


The Dog Days Are (Not) Over

by corgasbord



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Domestic, Fluff, M/M, of both the literal and metaphorical sort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 06:06:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13160838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corgasbord/pseuds/corgasbord
Summary: Kaito brings home a new friend, and Shuuichi thinks he may have bitten off more than he can chew.





	The Dog Days Are (Not) Over

**Author's Note:**

> this is my submission for a secret santa exchange hosted on tumblr! i was given the opportunity to write saimota by my recipient, so i took it and ran with a fluffy little idea i've been sitting on for a while. happy holidays!
> 
> ([tumblr](https://ndrv3winterexchange.tumblr.com/post/168972216059/heres-my-gift-for-ace-shuuichi-san-i-saw) link)

A low whine and the rustling of plastic stops Kaito on his leisurely walk home from the grocery store, a large paper bag in each arm. He casts a glance around the street of the ordinarily too-quiet neighborhood, wondering if he’d just imagined the sound, before it echoes again from around a corner up ahead.

Curious, he continues walking towards it until he finds the source tucked way in the shaded alley between one house and the next. A mass of brown fur pokes out from a tipped-over garbage can, fluffy tail waving behind it like a little flag, and Kaito can only stand there in surprise for a minute and watch it rummage.

“Oi,” he calls once he’s collected himself, “knock that off!”

The dog withdraws from the trash to return Kaito’s stare with dark, inquisitive eyes. It has a soft round face and triangular ears that perk up amicably at the sound of Kaito’s voice, and its tail wags faster as the two study each other.

Then it trots right up to Kaito, and he feels his resolve crumble. With a sigh, he shifts one of his bags into the opposite arm and squats down, one hand extended to sniff. A cold nose and short puffs of warm, condensed air graze his palm, followed by a brief, wet brush of tongue, and then another and another until Kaito moves his hand up from the dog’s snout to pat its head.

“Well, aren’t you friendly,” he murmurs, trying not to smile. “You smell like shit, though. What were you digging through trash for, huh?”

His fingertips run along behind the dog’s ears, then down its neck, feeling the absence of a collar. He frowns. “I see… you don’t have a home, then.”

The dog doesn’t answer, not that he’d expected it to. He can’t help but to feel bad for it, though, and he gives it a few consoling scratches between the ears. Then he takes another deep breath and stands, regarding the smelly creature before him with pity. “I’d take you home with me, but I don’t think my partner would like that… ‘sides, I’ve never had a dog before.”

He reaches down to pet it one last time before reluctantly turning away. “Sorry, buddy. I hope someone comes along who can actually help you.”

As he resumes his trek home, however, he hears the soft clicking of claws on concrete. He turns to look over his shoulder to see the dog trailing behind him and pauses, glaring at it sternly. “Hey, hang on,” he says, and it comes to a stop with him, eyeing him expectantly. “Quit following me, I already said I can’t take you home with me!”

He makes some shooing motions with his free hand, and the dog takes a couple of steps back. The moment he turns away to keep walking, though, the soft _tick tick tick_ picks up again, and he starts to wonder if this dog is seriously intent on following him all the way home.

He stops again, turns, looks around for something to distract the animal with. There are no interesting items lying about - of course not, that would be too convenient - but then he notices the taiyaki sitting at the top of his bag. He’d intended to bring it home for his boyfriend to eat later, but he decides that sometimes, sacrifices must be made.

“Here, boy, you wanna treat?” he asks, more tersely than he had intended. Still carefully balancing both grocery bags in one arm, he picks up the little cake and waves it. The dog’s ears flick up, and Kaito grins, certain of his victory. “Yeah, I bet you’d like this.”

He draws his arm back, and with a shout of, “Go fetch!” he chucks it as hard as he can down the sidewalk. As planned, the dog whirls immediately to run after it, and Kaito takes the opportunity to jog away in the direction of his house. It only occurs to him a minute later to worry about whether that sort of food is bad for dogs, but he supposes it’s too late for that now.

Shrugging it off, he walks the remaining block home. As he stands in front of his front door and reaches to dig his keys out of his pocket, though, his ears pick up on that soft quadrupedal ticking again. The dog comes over and stops a few feet away from him, licking its chops, a glob of sweet potato paste dotting its nose.

Kaito groans. “Are you fucking kidding me? Really?”

The dog tentatively wags its tail again in response, and Kaito stares it down, halfheartedly hoping that that will intimidate it away. It doesn’t. All it serves to do is weaken Kaito’s already shaky determination to resist. The dog inches a few paces closer, its beady eyes trained on Kaito’s groceries, and Kaito realizes that it’s probably still hungry.

It gives Kaito a quizzical tilt of its head, and he caves.

“All right,” he sighs, trying not to smile, “you win.”

He unlocks the house and coaxes the dog in, wondering what he’s going to tell his boyfriend. He supposes he’ll cross that bridge when he comes to it.

\------

A couple hours of research and an extra trip to the store later, Kaito is fully confident that he can handle this newfound responsibility. He’s obtained the dog’s basic needs, according to the internet. It’ll take a little time to figure out, but he’ll manage. Things always have a way of working out for him in the end.

He does the most dangerous thing one can do with a stray animal: he gives it a name, solidifying his attachment. He calls it Orion, which he thinks is a fitting name for such a big, fearless dog. A proud name. He thinks that Orion likes it, too, given the way his tail wags in response.

Unfortunately, he spends more time figuring out a name than figuring out a selling point for his boyfriend, so when he hears the click of the front doorknob, his first instinct is to panic. The dog is too big to lift, so he hustles it into the bedroom closet instead and slides the door shut, effectively trapping it there until he can find a better solution.

He’s quick to meet his partner at the front door after that, forcing a grin in greeting. “Hey Shuuichi, you’re home a little early today!” he says. He has no idea what time it is. “How was work?”

Shuuichi shrugs off his jacket and hangs it on a hook by the door. “It was all right, I guess. Nothing too exciting.” A hint of a smile plays upon his lips, a sign that as worn out as he probably is, he’s happy to see Kaito, too. “Did you really stay cooped up in here all day?”

“Nah, I went and got groceries,” he says. When Shuuichi raises an eyebrow, he hastily adds, “Only the stuff we needed, though. Don’t worry.”

It’s a half-truth that Kaito doesn’t feel like elaborating on, but Shuuichi’s brow smooths itself out, so he must be satisfied with that answer.

“I see… in that case, maybe I can make something for dinner,” Shuuichi murmurs thoughtfully. “I should change into something more comfortable first, though.”

Shuuichi begins to brush past Kaito to head to their bedroom, and Kaito’s heart jumps into his throat. “Uh- hey, wait a second!”

Shuuichi pauses and glances back at Kaito, his expression one of bemusement. “Hm?”

“I mean, uh.” Kaito fumbles for an excuse, anything to keep Shuuichi from going to peek in the closet. “Maybe we don’t need to make dinner tonight. Maybe we can just, like, go out and get something to eat instead. Right now.”

Shuuichi frowns. “Well… normally I wouldn’t have a problem with that, but I don’t really feel like going anywhere else right now. I’m a little tired since, you know, I just got home and all.”

“Oh. Uh, sure, I get you,” Kaito stammers. “In that case, why don’t we-”

Shuuichi cuts him off, slightly narrowed eyes flicking up and down his body. “Kaito, I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re acting kind of strange.”

“Nothing’s going on!” Kaito insists, forcing a laugh. “Nothing at all, just- I haven’t eaten all day, so it’s making me kind of antsy, y’know?”

“You’ve never been a good liar,” Shuuichi says disapprovingly, but his gaze no longer holds Kaito’s. It’s trained on a point near the bottom of Kaito’s shirt, and before Kaito can say anything about it, Shuuichi reaches forward to pluck something off of it. He raises whatever is pinched between his thumb and forefinger to squint at it. “Is this… animal hair?”

Kaito’s tongue feels stuck to the roof of his mouth, and before he can muster a good argument in his defense, a muffled whimper from down the hall breaks the silence. Shuuichi’s eyebrows shoot up, and he gives Kaito a disbelieving stare. “You didn’t.”

Kaito tries for a smile, but it doesn’t feel right. Not that it matters, because in the next few seconds Shuuichi’s already turned on his heel and begun striding down to the bedroom.

“Uh- Shuuichi, hang on a sec,” Kaito stammers, trailing after him, “I can explain-”

“Save it,” Shuuichi sighs, taut with impatience. He enters the bedroom and glances around, and upon finding it empty he steps over to the closet and opens it in one swift, aggravated motion.

Orion stares up at the two of them, one of Shuuichi’s house slippers wedged into his mouth. Shuuichi stares back, open-mouthed. Orion lets his jaws open too, dropping the slobbery, slightly torn article and trotting closer to sniff at Shuuichi.

Shuuichi closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. “You really brought a dog in here.”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“You brought a dog in here. A big dog,” Shuuichi interrupts him. “And you hid it in the closet. Were you just… planning on keeping it there? Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

Kaito starts to speak, but Shuuichi shakes his head and cuts him off again. “No, you know what, nevermind. That’s beside the point,” he says, frustration evident in his tone. “You can’t just decide on your own to bring a dog home out of the blue like that.”

“But it was a stray,” Kaito says. “It’s not like it had anywhere else to go- and besides, it wouldn’t stop following me. What else was I supposed to do?”

“Take it to a shelter?” Shuuichi suggests, crossing his arms. “Or, I don’t know, ask around to see if it does belong to someone?”

Kaito frowns, and Shuuichi gives him an exasperated shake of his head as he continues. “Look, I understand feeling bad for it, but we’ve never talked about having a pet before. We don’t know the first thing about handling dogs… and also,” he says, rubbing uneasily at his upper arm as his gaze trails back to Orion, “I’m allergic to animal dandruff.”

Kaito blinks. “Wait, really?”

Shuuichi nods. “I thought I’d mentioned that before, but I guess not.”

“I thought you were just allergic to, like, pollen and shit,” Kaito says, and now he almost feels bad.

“I am, but I react the same way to petting a dog. If I haven’t taken my medication I’ll get a rash, and my nose will start to run, and…” he trails off, shaking his head. “Well, you get the picture. The point is that even as much as I like dogs, I can’t be around them for too long.”

Kaito falls silent. Orion nudges Shuuichi’s hand with his nose, tail wagging, then licks it. Shuuichi’s expression falters.

After a few long moments, Kaito speaks up again. “I already bought some stuff that we’d need to take care of him, but… I guess I could see if one of the neighbors would be willing to take him off our hands and just give it all to them.”

Shuuichi bites his lip, silently letting Orion smell him, and Kaito sighs. “All right, c’mere, Orion. We’ll figure something out.”

“Orion?” Shuuichi asks, taken aback.

“Oh yeah, uh. That’s the name I gave him,” Kaito says. Orion turns around and pads over to him. “It just… felt weird not having something to call him by, I guess.”

“I see.” Shuuichi looks down at the dog again, something unreadable in his eyes. A few seconds pass before the corners of his lips twitch and he points out, “You know this is a female dog, right?”

“Wait, what?” Kaito blurts, unable to conceal his surprise. Shuuichi starts to crack a smile, and Kaito feels his face getting warmer. “I mean, uh- whether the dog’s male or female doesn’t matter. Orion’s still a good name.”

“Right,” Shuuichi says, cupping a palm over his mouth as he so often does when trying not to laugh. “You know that nicknaming breeds attachment, right?”

“I guess, but…” Kaito shrugs. “Well, she got attached to me first.”

Orion stands calmly by Kaito’s side, looking as content as a dog possibly could, and Shuuichi’s eyes flit back and forth between them for a long minute. He purses his lips, exhales long and slow through his nose, and when he talks again his voice is soft and laced with an air of quiet concession. “I’ll do some investigating tomorrow. I want to make sure that she doesn’t belong to anyone around here, and if she really is a stray, then… well, we’ll figure something out.”

Kaito’s back straightens. “Does that mean-”

“I don’t know. I just said we’ll figure something out, that’s all,” Shuuichi says. “And in the meantime, you can take care of her. Just keep in mind that she’s _your_ responsibility, okay?”

Kaito isn’t sure why Shuuichi’s acceptance makes him so giddy, but it does, and he ignores all the conditional statements in favor of scooping Shuuichi into a tight squeeze. “Yes! You’re the best, Shuuichi!”

Shuuichi makes a noise much like a chew toy that’s been stepped on, and only then does Kaito think to release him and let him breathe. Shuuichi dusts himself off with a few heavy puffs and grumbles, “I mean it when I say that I’m not going to be the one taking care of her, regardless of how long we end up keeping her.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get you! I can handle her, I swear,” Kaito says with an earnest nod. Then he stops, recalling that he should be concerned. “Wait, but what about your allergies?”

“They should be fine, as long as I’m taking my cetirizine,” Shuuichi assures him. “And we’ll probably need to vacuum and dust more often to get rid of the fur, but other than that… I guess we’ll just have to see.”

Orion’s tongue lolls out lazily, and it almost looks like she’s smiling. Kaito finds himself hoping, however selfishly, that she really doesn’t have anywhere to go home to. He wants to believe that she’ll get to stay.

Exactly two days pass, and the search for an owner proves fruitless. Kaito doesn’t have to do any begging at that point. Shuuichi already lacks the resolve to take Orion to a shelter and effectively abandon her.

Orion stays, and for all of Shuuichi’s prior exasperation, neither of them seem to mind that their house feels a little smaller now.

\------

They manage, somehow.

Orion likes to chew footwear, socks and shoes alike. She’s extremely resistant to baths, as Kaito finds the first time he has to chase her around the backyard with a hose because she won’t stay still long enough to get cleaned. Keeping her off of the couch and the bed proves to be a futile endeavor, and Shuuichi has to make a point to keep a lint roller handy. In spite of all that, they manage, and as weeks pass Kaito starts to forget what it was like to come home without being greeted by the excited skittering of Orion’s paws against the hardwood floor.

He sits on the couch with her curled up at one of his sides and Shuuichi leaning against his other one day, and it all feels so absurdly normal. His fingers idly massage the back of Orion’s neck, and his eyes go in and out of focus as Shuuichi switches on the TV to look for one of the crime shows he recorded.

He tilts his head to peer down at Orion. Her face is half-smushed against his thigh, her eyes closed and her ears twitching faintly. He can’t fight the grin that forms on his face at that, and he whispers, “Hey, Shuuichi,” as though he’s sharing some kind of secret. “Look at her. You think she’s dreaming?”

Shuuichi looks at Kaito and then at Orion, and he starts to smile a bit, too. “I’m not sure, but she seems happy regardless,” he says. “Then again, she’s probably happy a lot of the time, since she spends at least twelve hours a day napping in places she shouldn’t.”

“Nah. If anything, she’s happy because she’s got people to take care of her,” Kaito says, patting her head gently. “People are like that too, you know?”

“I suppose?” Shuuichi’s vision returns to the TV. “I’d say with people it’s a bit different, though.”

“Well, duh,” Kaito says. “But the principle’s still the same. We need people.”

“Ah.” Something akin to understanding flashes in Shuuichi’s eyes, though he’s not looking at Kaito. “Yeah… I guess you’re right. Otherwise there would be no point in families.”

“Yeah, you get me.” Kaito lets his head fall back against the couch cushions then, staring up at the patterned plaster of the ceiling and contemplating Shuuichi’s words. Families… they’re a family, aren’t they? An arguably complete one, he thinks, though some would probably disagree. Not that he cares what other people think, of course not, because if he did he wouldn’t be cohabiting with Shuuichi in the first place.

Still, his train of thought takes odd turns as it always does, and before he can tether his tongue back to his consciousness he asks, “Do you think having a dog is anything like having a kid?”

“Huh?” Startled, Shuuichi gives Kaito his full attention again.

“Ah, nevermind. That was a weird question.”

“Well. It was, but mostly because it was totally out of the blue,” Shuuichi says, shoulders tight with something Kaito can’t identify. “Why do you ask?”

“Because people always coddle their pets and say they’re like their kids and shit,” Kaito replies, still aimlessly thumbing over Orion’s ears. “And that always struck me as kinda weird beforehand, but now I think I get it. I don’t know if having a pet is anything like having a kid, and I don’t think I want to, but we can sort of think of Orion that way, right? Like, she fills that space.”

“I see.” Shuuichi seems to relax a bit at that. “I don’t have a point of reference for how kids act, besides what I’ve seen when helping out Harukawa-san… and frankly, I don’t think I want to, either. To be honest, managing Orion is difficult enough.”

“You think so? I don’t think it’s _that_ hard,” Kaito says. It’s half a lie, because Orion is tricky to deal with sometimes, but Kaito’s figured out by now that that’s simply part and parcel of the dog ownership experience.

“Well, it isn’t much harder than managing you, at least,” Shuuichi quips, and Kaito is almost too stunned to be indignant.

“H- Hey! Don’t go making me sound like a little kid!” he protests, but he’s not really mad. He can’t be when he can so clearly see Shuuichi trying not to giggle. “Besides, I’m a grown ass man. I don’t need to be ‘managed’.”

“I don’t know about that,” Shuuichi teases. “But at least I’m not allergic to you. I don’t know what I’d do then.”

Kaito scoffs and tousles Shuuichi’s hair in a deliberate attempt to muss it, and Shuuichi snickers and elbows Kaito in the side, and Kaito responds by digging his fingers into Shuuichi’s own sides to make him squeal.

Orion jumps a bit at the noise, then observes them with her ears raised. Kaito pulls away from Shuuichi to scratch beneath her chin. “Whoops- sorry, girl. Didn’t mean to scare ya.”

Shuuichi rolls his eyes and settles back against Kaito’s shoulder. “You really are something else.”

“That’s a good thing, right?” Kaito asks.

“It is,” Shuuichi replies softly, then after a beat adds, “usually.”

Kaito pretends to act annoyed and Shuuichi laughs and Orion, disturbed by the noise they’re making, crankily gets up to flop down at the opposite end of the couch. It’s like clockwork, a clearly molded routine taking shape. It’s a bit rowdier than it was before, but none of them seem to have any problems with it, given the way Orion contentedly huffs and the smile that won’t leave Shuuichi’s face.

Kaito no longer considers himself a gambling man, but he concludes that it’s worth believing that good things happen by chance.

**Author's Note:**

> confession time: i wanted to make this a bit longer and more elaborate, but i was already running on borrowed time, and i'm really not good with long projects, ahaha. i hope you all enjoy it anyway - and if you do, comments and kudos are much appreciated!!


End file.
